News and views about the implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 and other legislation, schemes and policies impacting the Right to Education of India's Children.

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Monday, March 11, 2013

No more rote learning in state primary schools

Innovative teaching Govt introduces new curriculum with focus on 'experience, reflection, application and consolidation'
Leaving behind rote learning and age-old methods, 40,000-odd
government primary schools across the state have adopted innovative
teaching practices. As part of the new curriculum, the schools have
introduced self-learning through open-ended stories, picture-based
lessons and making models based on scientific principles.
"This is one of the aspects of a larger project being undertaken
by the Gujarat Educational Innovations Commission (GEIC), the Gujarat
Council of Education Research and Training (GCERT) and the Sarva Shiksha
Abhiyan (SSA) in association with the UNICEF. The principle that has
been introduced and will be followed in all the subjects is ERAC —
Experience, Reflection, Application and Consolidation," said Dr Jayanti S
Ravi, Commissioner, Higher Education.
Some of these measures have already been inducted in the
curriculum from this academic session, across subjects from Class I to
VIII, and pilot studies are being conducted for the remaining ones.
Besides, workshops and orientation programmes are being conducted
for students on how to make scientific models and learning Science by
practising and experimenting with simple, cheap or even discarded
material. Around five schools have been identified in each district that
will mentor these workshops in the remaining schools in their
districts. At the orientation programmes, students are shown a
documentary made by the Education Department on how to do experiments
and make these scientific models.
On the implementation of these innovative methods, project
co-ordinator Dharmesh Ramanuj said the heads of Cluster Resource Centre
would keep an eye on whether it's being implemented in its true sense.
"Checks will be made in order to prevent teachers making these models
and doing the experiments or students buying these from the market," he
said.
The initiative, however, is giving some teachers a hard time in
the classroom. As revealed by representatives of the state resource
group, in the absence of content and only pictures, teachers are
approaching the group expressing difficulties in making sentences,
especially in English.
Suggestions of providing content in the teachers' edition
(separate teaching module for teachers) had been made to the Education
Department during workshops with government primary teachers. And it has
been learnt that the department is yet to take any note of these
suggestions.
Excerpts from new curriculum
What do you think, will Swapnil play the match with a strain on
his right foot? How? What is your opinion, should he play? How will the
team manage to win without him? Have you ever been in such a situation?
Complete the story in your own words.
Make your own genie in the box below. Write a story about your wishes and how will these be fulfilled.
How well can you observe this picture (of a railway station, market, etc)? Look at it and identify the occupations in it.